


Shelter Short 5

by starlightelixir



Series: Shelter Shorts [5]
Category: Shelter - wufargia (Webcomic)
Genre: Brief Self-Harm, Comfort, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Forehead Touching, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Self-Harm, Self-Harming Ruka, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22552498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightelixir/pseuds/starlightelixir
Summary: Ruka has a night terror. Pom is there to comfort him.
Relationships: Pom & Ruka
Series: Shelter Shorts [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1622614
Kudos: 4





	Shelter Short 5

Ruka jolted up in bed--startled, gasping for breath, and covered in a thick, but cold sweat--it was unpleasant, fear flooding into his conscious brain, his body shaking beyond what he felt was normal, the way his vision tunneled and caused everything to turn--every sensation hit him all at once, every scent, every sound, every ounce of light, every bit of nausea and every bodily ache he could have possibly had flooded his senses, and it was relentless.

Pom groaned and shifted--she sleepily raised herself, her hair tousled up on the side that she had slept on. “Ruka?” Her voice slurred. “Hey,” She adjusted herself, now sitting cross-legged in front of the panicking Ruka on her bed.

Ruka had already started to dig his nails into his left arm--raking and clawing, trying to regain _any_ ounce of control over himself.

Pom slowly--gently--took his hands into her own, pulling them away from his arm; he raised his head to meet her gaze, his eyes wide, full of fear--but somehow dull, clouded, and lost.

“It’s me, okay?” Pom whispered, her warm hands offering a reassuring squeeze. “You just had a bad dream… Wanna talk about it?”

She waited in silence, the only sounds that filled the room were the rain gently tapping at the window, and the only light being the crack from the slightly-open door, and the power button on Pom’s desktop. She stared intently at his face, searching for any sign that he was coming back, occasionally squeezing his hands to try and ground him.

Slowly, but surely, his breathing steadied--he returned the squeezes in time, and drew a deep breath. “I’m okay,” He said hoarsely. “I’m okay…”

“I’m here for you if you need to talk about it, okay?” She inched forward, carefully so, in case he wanted physical space, and slowly rested her forehead against his. “I’m with you, you know that.”

“I don’t… I don’t actually remember it?” He shut his eyes, relaxing at the soft contact between them. “I guess that’s a good thing.”

“Want me to go downstairs? I can make some hot cocoa--it might kinda help you relax a little, and go back to sleep.”

Ruka shook his head in response--he was careful not to knock himself against Pom, or break the forehead touch. “I’ll be fine--I just want you near me right now?”

“If you change your mind, we can both go downstairs? My family won’t mind if we let the microwave ding, I promise.” She slowly withdrew one of her hands, placing it on his arm and inspecting it a bit more closely in the dim light. “We also need to get this washed and bandaged, you kinda did a little bit of a number on yourself.”

Ruka hesitated; she always tried to be considerate about things like that, and always tried to reassure him whenever she knew something like that might worry him or make him anxious. “Yeah, actually--I think that’d be a good idea. Let’s go?”

**Author's Note:**

> For Fictober's "I'm with you, you know that." prompt!


End file.
